signature style and a naughty needle

i've been thinking about handquilting signatures/styles. everyone who handquilts seems to have their own unique stitch style, much like a handwriting style. i find this fascinating and intriguing. why do we all differ so much? 

i'm trying to get this liberty courthouse steps quilt's handquilting completed before i go home later this week so i can have it ready for binding. so, i've been spending time pushing and pulling the needle and thread a lot. i took a few photos along the way and even made a short video i posted to instagram demonstrating how my stitching goes. i've learned from other quilters when they share their method and i like watching them do their stitch thing, so i shared mine. 

one of my favorite parts of handquilting is when i'm burying the thread and it goes "pop!" as it snaps through the fabric, as it's about to do above. i find that so satisfying. when a fabric doesn't pop, i'm always unsure if it's worked and have to double check myself. so the pop isn't all visceral pleasure, it also tells me something.

a closeup of my stitching as it appears on tana lawn. the white thread blends a little more here than on the chambray where it really stands out. you can faintly see the hera marker line i score into the fabric to mark my stitching path.

my stitches are pretty small and fairly close together. i've seen other quilters who use these marvelous big stitches with big spaces in between and wonder how they got them that way. joz is a great example of big stitches. here are a few facts about my stitching that likely affect the appearance:

• i don't use a hoop or frame
• i use thin, short needles with a small eye, typically the tulip quilting betweens in the orange box
• i use aurifil 12wt thread
• so far, i only quilt straight lines
• i quilt away from myself, as opposed to left or right
• i tend to rock my needle up and down as i move it through the quilt sandwich
• i rarely use a thimble
• my left hand goes under the quilt and grips it from beneath while i quilt with my right hand
• i pin baste quilts i'm going to handquilt
• i use "warm and natural"100% cotton batting (which i buy on the bolt)

this theo piece is the one i filmed myself stitching. i'm not high tech at all, i just had my daughter stand behind me and hold my phone between my face and my hands to record while i was stitching. admittedly, it was a little awkward! and it affected my stitching slightly. the stitches are a bit further apart than usual. but i did pretty well considering having that thing in my face.

when i started having trouble threading the needle (after a while fluff begins to catch in the eye), i decided it was time to change it out. i grabbed a new bohin quilting needle i recently purchased in a bundle with a new needle threader. i loved how tiny it was. 

but when i tried threading it with the threader, i could not get that thread through! i had replaced my former pretty threaders (also here) with a new plastic red one, which seemed like it would be a little more sturdy than the tin ones that eventually break. 

well, the threader didn't break but the needle bent terribly! i was shocked. i've only ever had machine needles do anything like this. never a hand needle.

 i decided to tug one more time and the darn thing snapped!

i safely disposed of it in the kitchen garbage and searched out another tulip needle. back to business with my trusty standards.

wish me luck getting my stitching done before i leave.